Ventilation System for Induction Cooktop
A countertop mounted cooking appliance includes a chassis upon which is arranged a cooktop. A peripheral side portion of the chassis includes at least one opening and a control box is mounted in the chassis for housing control elements and associated electronics. An inner duct extends over at least a portion of the control box, while an outer duct extends across the at least one opening along the peripheral side portion to the countertop. A fan is mounted within the chassis wherein, when the fan is activated, a cooling airflow is developed and directed through the inner duct, out of the chassis, and through the outer duct prior to being exhaust through a gap created between the cooktop and the countertop by a trim piece.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/546,069, filed on Jul. 11, 2012 and titled “Ventilation System for a Cooktop”. The entire content of this application is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND Technical FieldThe present disclosure pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a ventilation system for developing an airflow that cools control elements, as well as an internal chassis portion, of a cooktop, particularly an induction cooktop.
Description of the Related ArtIn general, smooth-top cooking surfaces are well known in the art and are generally associated with a range or mounted in a countertop. A typical cooktop includes a frame having secured thereto a plurality of heating elements which are covered by a glass-ceramic panel or other type of cooking surface. In addition, the cooktop includes a plurality of control elements, each of which is associated with operating a corresponding heating element mounted to the cooktop. In many cases, the cooktop includes openings that enable cooling air to pass through a top portion of the cooktop to draw away heat generated by the heating elements. The airflow can also be directed by the control elements to protect any associated electronics.
Generally, manufacturers mount the control elements in a separate area of the frame. This arrangement eliminates the need for complicated mounting brackets associated with mounting controls or switches alongside the heating elements on the cooktop. In addition, mounting the control elements remote from the heating elements eliminates, or at least reduces, the need to shield control electronics from heat generated by the heating elements. However, the addition of a separate area dedicated to the controls reduces the overall available surface area of the cooktop. Add to that the need for a cooling air inlet opening, and the available cooking space is considerably reduced.
Based on the above, there exists a need for a system, which provides for effective cooling of electronic components in an appliance cooktop, specifically a countertop mounted, induction cooktop. More specifically, there exists a need for a ventilation system that employs at least one air passage defining structure, which assures an ample flow of ventilation air in order to enhance the life of the electronic components.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure is directed to a ventilation system for a cooking appliance, particularly an induction cooktop mounted in a countertop. The cooking appliance includes a frame which supports at least one heating element and associated electronic control components. The frame may include a peripheral side portion that establishes a chassis upon which is arranged a glass cooktop. In accordance with the present disclosure, the peripheral side portion may include at least one opening that allows air to pass into and out of the chassis.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a trim structure may be provided between the induction cooktop and the countertop in order to lift the cooktop above the upper surface of the countertop and for establishing a substantially peripheral gap. In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, at least one of an inner and an outer duct may be provided for the chassis of the cooking appliance, with the inner duct extending over at least a portion of an electronic control box mounted within the chassis. The control box may include a plurality of side walls that define a housing for electrical components, and/or a heat sink for the electrical components, associated with controlling the at least one heating element of the cooking appliance. In addition, at least one outer duct may extend between the countertop and the chassis adjacent an end of the inner duct.
With this arrangement, a flow of cooling air may be drawn into the inner duct in order to draw heat from the electronic components and then delivered to the outer duct, which directs the flow of cooling air to exhaust through a section of the peripheral gap. A fan may be mounted within the chassis to establish a negative pressure to cause the air to flow through at least one of the inner and outer ducts. The inlet air can be drawn from directly adjacent the chassis or through a section of the peripheral gap and guided through a first outer duct to certain openings in the peripheral side wall of the chassis prior to being let to the inner duct.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of specific embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
With initial reference to
Cooking appliance 2 is also provided with a cooking surface or cooktop 26, which in the embodiment shown, is constituted by a smooth glass/ceramic cooktop. Cooktop 26 may be provided with a plurality of cooking zones 29-33 containing heating elements (not separately labeled), illustrated as sheathed, electric heating elements, which are selectively operated by a corresponding plurality of control elements, illustrated as knobs 34-38. It should be known that the control elements may also be buttons, toggles or other such elements. Although not shown in the embodiment depicted, cooking appliance 2 could be provided with a downdraft fan unit arranged on cooktop 26 in order to draw away smoke or other byproducts that may be generated during cooking upon cooktop 26. Also shown mounted with chassis 4 is a fan or blower assembly 48 which, as will be more fully discussed below, may be employed to create a flow of ventilation air through at least a specified portion of chassis 4.
With reference to
As illustrated, control box 53 contains a heat sink 63 for the electronics in housing 59, with the present disclosure being described in connection with providing a ventilation system to assure an adequate flow of cooling air for the electronics by directing cooling air into housing 59 and across heat sink 63. To this end, blower assembly 48, when operated, creates a cooling airflow through at least a portion of chassis 4 and it is the manner in which air is directed into, guided through, and exhausted from chassis 4 to which the present disclosure is particularly concerned as discussed more fully below.
With particular reference to the embodiment shown in
When cooking appliance 2 is mounted in kitchen countertop 3, a gap 117 is established between cooktop 26 and upper surface 112 due to the inclusion of a trim piece or trim member generally indicated at 120. Reference will now be made to
With this overall arrangement, operation of blower assembly 48 causes an airflow to be drawn into chassis 4 through opening 65, with the airflow being directed into and through inner duct 72 so as to flow over heat sink 63. Thereafter, the airflow leaves chassis 4 through at least one opening 17 exposed to outer duct 85. The airflow is then guided within outer duct 85 between angled wall portion 104 and second leg 124 of trim piece 120 so as to reach gap 117 between countertop 3 and cooktop 26. Thereafter, the airflow is exhausted through gap 117 as established by trim piece 120 by the inclusion of first leg 123 arranged between cooktop 26 and countertop 3. At the same time, a separate flow of ventilation air can be directed through openings 126 from directly below cooktop 26.
In connection with the overall disclosure, the combination of inner and outer ducts and a trim piece may be employed to establish the ventilation system. Certainly, the construction and arrangement of these various components can greatly vary in accordance with the overall disclosure. By way of further examples, reference will be made to the additional figures to set forth other embodiments. For instance,
In accordance with this embodiment, chassis 4 is provided with a plurality of openings 161 arranged substantially around the entire periphery, with at least one of the openings 161 having an associated louver 162. At this point, it should be recognized that
Again, it must be recognized that various ducting arrangements can be employed without departing from the present disclosure. For instance,
Based on the discussions above, it should be readily apparent that different configurations for the trim piece can also be employed in connection with the disclosure. That is, exemplary trim pieces have been described with respect to at least
A similar advantageous trim arrangement is set forth in accordance with the embodiment in
By way of a still further embodiment wherein a trim piece is located further inward of an edge portion of cooktop 26, reference is made to
Based on the above, it should be readily apparent that the cooking appliance of the present disclosure effectively establishes a ventilation system for providing a flow of cooling air for electronic components of the cooking appliance, with the ventilation system employing the use of at least one trim member, an inner duct and an outer duct, which synergistically combine to enable a cooling airflow to be directed into a chassis of the cooking appliance, pass through the inner and outer ducts, and exhaust through a gap established by the trim member in order to effectively cool the electronic components for extended life. As exemplified by the numerous embodiments described above, various configurations and airflow pathways can be established through the use of the inner and outer ducts and the trim piece, while these components can take various configurations themselves without departing from the various aspects of the disclosure. Therefore, although described with respect to the specific embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood that various changes and sectional modifications can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, the particular location of the blower assembly can be varied depending upon the configuration of the heating elements and the ducting. In addition, while shown in connection with a cooking appliance operating on electricity, the present disclosure could also be incorporated into a gas appliance, including a gas-under-glass cooktop unit. In general, the disclosed embodiments are only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A method of cooling components supported in a chassis of a cooking appliance mounted in a countertop, the method comprising:
- activating a blower assembly mounted to the chassis to create an airflow;
- directing the airflow into the chassis through at least one opening formed in the chassis;
- directing the airflow through an inner duct provided in the chassis to cool the components;
- directing the airflow from the inner duct to an outer duct extending from a peripheral side wall portion of the chassis;
- guiding the airflow within the outer duct to between the countertop and a cooktop of the cooking appliance; and
- exhausting the airflow through a gap established by at least one trim piece arranged between the cooktop and the countertop.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the airflow through an end portion of the inner duct that extends to the at least one opening.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising directing the airflow to the gap with the outer duct, wherein the inner duct includes an inlet and an outlet for the airflow, the outlet being at the end portion of the inner duct and spaced from the outer duct by the peripheral side wall portion such that the outer duct is positioned outside of the chassis.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one opening includes multiple openings, the method further comprising placing an inlet region of the outer duct in fluid communication with the multiple openings, wherein the outer duct includes a single outlet region.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising guiding the airflow within another outer duct positioned outside of the chassis and leading from the gap to the inlet of the inner duct.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein directing the airflow from the inner duct includes directing the airflow to the peripheral side wall portion which includes first, second, third and fourth side walls, with the first and second side walls being arranged opposite the third and fourth side walls respectively, and wherein:
- 1) the inner duct includes an inlet positioned at the first side wall and an outlet positioned at the third side wall; or
- 2) the inner duct includes an inlet and an outlet, each positioned at the third side wall.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through at least one splash shield portion of the at least one trim member, said at least one splash shield portion being configured to define the gap.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through inner and outer splash shield portions of the at least one splash shield portion.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through a series of spaced holes formed in a splash shield portion formed in the at least one trim piece, said series of spaced holes collectively constituting the gap.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein directing the airflow through the inner duct includes directing the airflow over at least a portion of a control box, wherein the components are housed in the control box.
11. A method of cooling components supported in a chassis of a cooking appliance mounted in a countertop, the method comprising:
- activating a blower assembly mounted to the chassis to create an airflow;
- directing the airflow into the chassis through at least one opening formed in the chassis;
- directing the airflow through an inner duct provided in the chassis to cool the components, wherein the inner duct includes an end portion extending to at least one of the at least one opening;
- directing the airflow from the inner duct to an outer duct arranged outside of the chassis;
- guiding the airflow within the outer duct to between the countertop and a cooktop of the cooking appliance; and
- exhausting the airflow through a gap established by at least one trim piece arranged between the cooktop and the countertop.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein directing the airflow from the inner duct to the outer duct includes directing the airflow from the inner duct to the outer duct which extends from a peripheral side wall portion of the chassis.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising directing the airflow to the gap with the outer duct, wherein the inner duct includes an inlet and an outlet for the airflow, the outlet being at the end portion of the inner duct and spaced from the outer duct by the peripheral side wall portion such that the outer duct is positioned outside of the chassis.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one opening includes multiple openings, the method further comprising placing an inlet region of the outer duct in fluid communication with the multiple openings, wherein the outer duct includes a single outlet region.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising guiding the airflow within another outer duct positioned outside of the chassis and leading from the gap to the inlet of the inner duct.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein directing the airflow from the inner duct includes directing the airflow to a peripheral side wall portion of the chassis which includes first, second, third and fourth side walls, with the first and second side walls being arranged opposite the third and fourth side walls respectively, and wherein:
- 1) the inner duct includes an inlet positioned at the first side wall and an outlet positioned at the third side wall; or
- 2) the inner duct includes an inlet and an outlet, each positioned at the third side wall.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through at least one splash shield portion of the at least one trim member, said at least one splash shield portion being configured to define the gap.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through inner and outer splash shield portions of the at least one splash shield portion.
19. The method of claim 11, wherein exhausting the airflow through the gap includes exhausting the airflow through a series of spaced holes formed in a splash shield portion formed in the at least one trim piece, said series of spaced holes collectively constituting the gap.
20. The method of claim 11, wherein directing the airflow through the inner duct includes directing the airflow over at least a portion of a control box, wherein the components are housed in the control box.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 7, 2017
Publication Date: Apr 12, 2018
Patent Grant number: 10865995
Applicant: Whirlpool Corporation (Benton Harbor, MI)
Inventors: Ajay Yashwant Chavan (Pune), Arunkumar Balasubramanian (Pune)
Application Number: 15/834,563